Caloocan watchman kills peace officer

A member of a village peace and order council was stabbed dead by a barangay watchman during a melee in Caloocan City at past midnight yesterday.

Ricardo Santos, 54, a resident of Barangay 175 in Camarin, Caloocan City North, died of a stab wound in the stomach while undergoing treatment at the Far Eastern University Hospital in Quezon City at around 5 a.m. due to “severe bleeding.”

Police Officer 1 Mark Andrew Bartolome said Santos was allegedly stabbed by Emiliano Elardo, 42, a watchman of Barangay 176 in Bagong Silang, in a videoke bar owned by the victim in Camarin.

Santos, a peace and order council officer of Barangay 175, went to his bar to pacify a commotion reportedly started by a drunk Elardo.

But instead of heeding Santos, Elardo pulled out a knife and stabbed Santos once in the stomach. Elardo tried to escape but was immediately cornered by barangay watchmen Leo Serrano and Ernesto Sagum and waiter Nernate Ramos. The suspect yielded a five-inch knife he used to stab the victim. Police were set to file charges against the suspect yesterday.   – Pete Laude